There is a quote from Alice Walker’s essay, In Search of Our Mothers’ Gardens, that has stayed with me since the first time I read it a few years after graduate school. As a matter of fact, two to three pages of the essay remain imprinted in my memory and excerpts can be found scrawled … Continue reading A Walk in the Garden of My Grandparents
Author: MermaidofthePlains
In Search of Tiny Yellow Flowers
On Thursday, April 16, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature (1982) took leave of this earth. I learned of his passing late in the evening while perusing the day's news and was immediately saddened by his passing. The first thing I envisioned was Mexico City blanketed in tiny yellow flowers, as in the passage from One Hundred … Continue reading In Search of Tiny Yellow Flowers
More Than a Season
When the season ends, it always hurts. From November until April, we immerse ourselves in college hoops, specifically Shocker basketball, and when the season ends, well, it's painful. The oomph to the solar plexus, the slight confusion, the reality check of everyday life. During basketball season, we live game day to game day, with each moment … Continue reading More Than a Season
A Woman’s Worth
I’ve learned over the years not to underappreciate the women in my life. I’ve been blessed with an incredible mother who has been the strongest role model for me and my siblings. She epitomizes strength, reliability, and love. My sister is also strong and has an amazingly compassionate heart and recognizes the value of friends … Continue reading A Woman’s Worth
Whole not Hole-Hearted
Today, I had an interesting conversation with my student office assistant, a very smart and mindful young woman. After sharing a link to a TED talk with her, she and I began discussing the turning point in our lives when we didn't like where we were, better yet, who we were. She is braver than … Continue reading Whole not Hole-Hearted
The Lesson
My last unfinished post was in July. I was working on a piece about my recent one-week conference with the Oral Health Kansas Dental Champions Leadership program and members of the Kansas Leadership Center. It was a somewhat stressful, slightly confusing, but incredibly inspiring week and I'd decided, after a week of digesting, possibly a … Continue reading The Lesson
Paradise is in Belle Plaine, Kansas
I have fallen in love with one of the most beautiful places in Kansas. I'd heard of its beauty, its mystery blossoming behind a rusted gate and stone walls, a slice of Eden nestled in Belle Plaine. But, I'd failed to visit even though the wonderful Robin Macy, an original Dixie Chick, has created the … Continue reading Paradise is in Belle Plaine, Kansas
A Crush on Faulkner
Having a crush on William Faulkner is not easy (no jokes about how the author has been deceased since 1962). Being sweet on the works of the man, like any relationship, has its ups and downs. There are times you truly have to work at it, convince yourself it is worth the wait, the patience, all for those moments that leave … Continue reading A Crush on Faulkner
Wine Wednesday I, II and III
Three weeks ago, I stopped at the liquor store to buy a bottle of wine. It hadn't been an unusually tough day at work, I just craved something cold and dry on the tongue that would send a little warmth to my solar plexus. I chose a bottle of Fat Bastard chardonnay, a wine I … Continue reading Wine Wednesday I, II and III
If April showers bring May snow, what will May snow bring?
Tuesday, I was sipping on this: It was sunny all day, the warm breeze providing a hint of mid-June, and with the work week off to a shaky, broken-heel kind of start, I needed a refreshing, cold, slightly sour alcoholic beverage. This was not a beer or wine kind of evening, this was a give-me-brain-freeze-and-pretend-I'm-on-vacation-in-Mexico … Continue reading If April showers bring May snow, what will May snow bring?
Mermaid of the Plains 